The Explorers' Club
№ CCCXI - The Park of the Monsters.







That the news item below caught my eye—& roused my ire—on the same day as the publication of the above episode of "The Explorers' Club," also dealing with an Italian idiosyncrasy, is pure coincidence. The Park of the Monsters was scheduled to appear today at least a fortnight in advance. That said, I cannot help but recall the words of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "plain, simple Garak,": "I believe in coincidences. Coincidences happen every day. But I don't trust coincidences."

Science!
The Italians must be crazy: earthquake-link! While I can certainly understand the anguish of those who lost kith & kin in the earthquake, to hold the scientists responsible for manslaughter is risible. They didn't cause the earthquake, & earthquake prediction cannot & should be held to the standards the court seems to be demanding. It just doesn't work that way! Predicting earthquakes is not like drawing up a train schedule, a circumstance in which a man might reasonably be responsible for a fatal deviation from the schedule. Italian justice: a contradiction in terms.

"No, GIR! Those piggies are for science. Science!"

The Winged Wheel
It's hard enough to be a hockey fan while the monster Bertuzzi is wearing a Red Wings sweater, but it's harder still when there is simply no hockey being played. The N.H.L. is a nigh-perfect exemplar of how not to run a professional sports league. Alas! All is not lost, though, as visiting the Detroit Red Wings' official website directs one to an advertisement for tickets to the Great Lakes Invitational (G.L.I.), a glorious end-of-the-year college hockey tradition—to be held this year out of doors in Comerica Park, the poorly named home of baseball's Detroit Tigers—, & other collegiate hockey games to he held in "The Joe," the Joe Louis Arena, home of the Red Wings. The N.H.L. might not be playing, but the G.L.I. will go on!

The valiant Wolverines & the dastardly Spartans are always two of the four clubs invited to the G.L.I. Go Blue!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Barenaked Ladies, "Hello City" (live) from Rock Spectacle (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The title should be "Hello, City," because the city is being addressed. "Hello City" would be proper if if that was the proper name of the municipality, like Kansas City or Gotham City. "Hello, & welcome to Hello City!"